[ He shakes his head to the question, though the truth is he hasn't been back to check, not since Jerry set him on this path. Kyle's eyes shift from the rib bones to where the dog has slunk away in her corner. ]

I used to try to hold onto these things for the others. [ He still does. Kyle closes his eyes. ] It seems wrong, to forget how we started.

[ But maybe their minds just weren't meant to hold onto so much. Maybe it's a natural consequence of living so long.

This is why all things must die, eventually. This is why he stares down into the maw, why he watches the mortals through themselves into the crater.

He opens his eyes again, frowning at the bones. ]

You had a tree, once, with pendants hanging from it.